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Despite opposition from trade bodies and citizens, Schiphol Airport plans to cut late-night flights. Airlines and tourism bodies worry this will impact summer travel to the Netherlands.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport plans to cut late-night flights as part of attempts to reduce noise pollution, newspaper Het Parool reported on Monday, citing the airport’s CEO.
Plans for the airport to be rolled out in the coming two years include closing it almost completely between midnight and 5 A.M., the report citing CEO Ruud Sondag said.
A spokesperson for Schiphol could not immediately be reached to confirm the report, which said the airport is also planning to ban noisier airplanes and private jets.
The Dutch government announced earlier that it plans to cap flights at 440,000 per year in June 2022, below pre-COVID-19 levels of 500,000, following a years-long campaign by environmental groups over noise pollution and carbon dioxide emissions.
But airlines including Air France’s Dutch subsidiary KLM have mounted a legal challenge to the plan, while Schiphol itself is pushing for a 460,000 limit.
Any annual flight cap is theoretical for the moment, as Schiphol has imposed stricter daily passenger limits at the airport for the upcoming spring vacation season due to ongoing staffing shortages.
Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Leslie Adler
Copyright (2023) Thomson Reuters.
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Tags: air france-klm, airlines, amsterdam, Schiphol Airport
Photo credit: Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport is capping passengers and flights. Rita Candeias / Unsplash